The monthly Industry seminar is now called The Monthly Presentation to Industry (formerly the SLC Industry Seminar). The Monthly Presentation invites CURENT students, industry leaders and academic experts to participate in monthly seminars through the center’s lead institute, the University of Tennessee. These industry seminars are typically held on the first Thursday of each month from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm and are available through WebEx. The seminars cover a variety of topics related to the ongoing research and technical development of the nation’s power grid.
Emails go out a week in advance about the speaker and topic and the seminar will also be announced on the CURENT website in News and on the CURENT Center Calendar.
Due to certain scheduling opportunities, some seminars may be held at times other than the first Thursday of the month.
Recent Monthly Presentations
Thursday, November 7, 2024
Dr. Liyan Zhu, Virginia Tech, Power Electronic Units for Vehicle Charging and Their Integration Trends
Abstract: Power electronics units, such as onboard chargers (OBC), and auxiliary power modules (APM) are the key units of charging systems in electric vehicles (EVs). Tremendous efforts are put into the optimization of these units for higher efficiency, higher power density, and lower cost. In addition to optimizing each single unit separately, multi-functional integrated solutions provide another way out to achieve lower cost, smaller size, lighter weight, and higher performance, which enables a unique technical roadmap for future EV development. This webinar will cover the state-of-the-art technologies for advanced charging systems and their multi-level integration trends, including the package level, magnetic level, topology level, control level, and system level. The integration concept of power electronics for other potential applications will also be discussed.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Dr. Bolun Xu, Columbia University, Efficient Management of Grid-scale Energy Storage Using Physics-informed Machine Learning
Abstract: Energy storage is increasingly recognized as a crucial asset for integrating renewable energy and enhancing grid reliability. However, due to the limited storage capacity and state-of-charge constraints, effective planning and operation of storage systems require a careful balance between future uncertainties and the physical constraints of storage technologies. This talk addresses the current challenges and opportunities in scaling up energy storage deployment within power systems, emphasizing the need for advanced tools to optimize and monitor storage operations. We will explore how integrating physics-based storage models with machine learning can lead to computationally efficient strategies for managing grid-scale energy storage. Furthermore, we present methods for incorporating power and energy constraints into these learning models, including decision-focused learning and opportunity value function quantification, enabling more effective and scalable solutions for energy storage management.
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Dr. Hector Pulgar, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, “Enabling IBR-based power technologies to enhancepower system damping”
Abstract: This talk focused on the use of IBR-based power technologies, such as wind, solar and energy storage systems, to enhance power system response regarding oscillations. The presentation will highlight the importance of thoughtful considerations at the planning stage of the strategic deployment location of these components. Additionally, as most of these IBR-based technologies may have limited regulation capabilities compared to conventional power plants, innovative solutions will be discussed to enable them to effectively address the problem of sustained oscillations.
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Dr. Min Xiong, NREL, “Power System Dynamic Simulation with Inverter-based Resources”
Abstract: Power system electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation is an essential tool for studying power grids dominated by inverter-based resources (IBRs). It is based on a mathematical model and uses time-domain simulation to predict the behavior of a power system under anticipated operating conditions. Simulation results provide insights into system stability and reliability, and the performance of new equipment and functionalities. However, due to small simulation time steps and increasing problem sizes, performing EMT simulations for large-scale power grids becomes computational-intensive, and often impractical. In this presentation, Dr. Min Xiong will focus on EMT simulation using a semi-analytical approach for improving the simulation efficiency, and will introduce his latest work on power system hybrid EMT-transient stability (TS) partition and simulation, as well as parallel EMT simulation for large-scale power grids with a significant presence of IBRs.
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Dr. Aaron Wilson, ORNL, “Empowering Grid Resilience: Introducing the Grid Event Signature Library“
Abstract: The Grid Event Signature Library (GESL) is a DOE-funded open-access repository of waveform “event signatures” captured from different locations around North America. In this presentation, the motivation of GESL will be introduced, the design strategy used for labeling event data from different sources, and a brief demonstration of its features will be shown.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Dr. Hantao Cui, Oklahoma State University, “Hybrid-Symbolic Numeric Framework for Power System Dynamics: The ANDES Package and Future Directions”
Abstract: As a critical infrastructure, the electric energy system is undergoing an unprecedented transition towards sustainability. While the integration of renewables, responsive “smart” loads, and remote-control techniques improve economics and sustainability, it also poses significant challenges to grid stability and dynamics. The traditional approach of using differential-algebraic equations to model power system components faces challenges due to the high complexity of renewable models and the heterogeneity of smart devices. The CURENT ANDES simulation framework based on symbolic-numeric methods is presented. It enables rapid prototyping of complex grid models for large-scale studies and has been developed into a comprehensive open-source package for research and education purposes. To tackle the challenges of simulating heterogeneous components, this talk presents a communication-in-the-loop simulation architecture designed to account for communication delays accurately. Furthermore, this talk will outline future research using the ANDES simulator for high-performance and multi-timescale dynamic simulations.
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Dr. Lingling Fan, University of South Florida, “Feedback and Oscillations”
Abstract: Many oscillation phenomena can be analyzed through either constructing simple circuits or simple feedback systems. This approach helps design effective mitigation strategies. In this talk, I will examine a few oscillation phenomena in inverter-based resources (IBRs) and power grids, including synchronous generator torsional interactions, IBR power plant voltage oscillations, frequency control caused oscillations, and synchronization stability. The objective is to illustrate that each can be analyzed through simple circuits or straightforward feedback systems. Moreover, this understanding enables the development of effective mitigation strategies.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Dr. Hua “Kevin” Bai, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, “High Power GaN in Transportation Electrification: Chargers, Propulsion Inverters and Solid-state Circuit Breakers”
Abstract: As two promising next-generation semiconductor devices, it is well understood that Silicon Carbide devices are handling high power while Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices are targeting the low power applications. With the GaN technology progressing in recent years, it is also witnessed GaN also emerges into the high-power domain, particularly in electrified transportation areas such as electric vehicle (EV) on-board chargers (OBC), propulsion inverter and solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs). In the seminar, the presenter will use a 22kW EV OBC, a 75kW EV inverter and a >100A SSCB to illustrate the opportunities and challenges of GaN in high-power applications.
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Dr. Deepak Ramasubramanian, Electric Power Research Institute, “Use of BESS for System Stability Services in Future Power System”
Abstract: The presentation will provide an overview of how BESS could be used as a stabilization source. Further, nuances associated with provision of system services from IBRs will also be covered.